Innocent Eyes
by Vilsy
Summary: (Chapter 4 is up now) Beat is somehow picked up by Onishima and is questioned about the possession of drugs among the GGs. He is obviously pissed off at these false charges and he strives to investigate the other local gangs in an attempt to clear the G
1. Part One-- Tag the Moon

"Innocent Eyes"

Part One

by Vilsy

__

Jet Grind Radio and all the related characters, locations, etc. belong to Sega Enterprises. Also.. I should add... as most do... 'Graffiti is art: however, graffiti as an act of vandalism is a crime and punishable by law.' (Gyaah no! Here come the missiles! Not the tear gas, waaaai!!! Er, sorry. Have a good read. ^_^; )

The moon seemed brighter than usual on this Friday night. Gum sat on the edge of a roof in the high-tech setting of Benten-cho with her legs crossed neatly. Her long-time friend and fellow rudie gang member Beat lay on his back a short distance from her. Gum stole a glance at him, assuming that he was either star-gazing or watching out for police helicopters. The calm expression on his face suggested the former... or at least she would be able to tell if she could see his eyes. Perhaps he was lost in the tunes being streamed directly into his brain through his headphones. Gum shrugged and continued to gaze out across the cityscape. She had often spent evenings in Beat's company, exchanging playful yet cynical insults in an attempt to outdo each other with sharp wit. Other times they would race across the rooftops and through car-filled streets in order to prove who was faster. Occasionally they would have private tagging competitions to see who had come up with a "phatter" design than the other. Very rarely did the two find themselves alone together sharing nothing but silence and each other's company. This was one of those rare moments and it was a bit unnerving.

Gum was getting cold. The soft breeze sailing through Benten-cho was a bit nippier than usual on this night and the rudie-girl could feel the goose bumps rising on her soft skin. She wanted to go somewhere, but she was not sure exactly where. "Home" sounded like a nice solution. She looked down at the dark concrete below and pulled her knees up against her chest. "Home"... The run-down and abandoned garage in sunny Shibuya-cho was her "home". The GGs were her "family". Gum had pondered this scenario many times late at night when she was alone or just about to fall asleep. Her mind wandered to her mother whom she had left so long ago. A sigh was just about to escape her lips when Beat's voice suddenly startled her.

"You know what would be cool, Gum?"

Gum turned and gazed at the boy who still lay stretched out on the cold roof surface with his arms folded behind his head. "Huh? No, what?"

Beat paused for some time, then lifted his arm and pointed skyward. "If I could tag the moon."

Gum bit her lip but could not contain a laugh.

Beat did not turn to look at her but was obviously annoyed by her response. "Well what's so funny about that?"

"Oh nothing. Other than the fact that it's impossible and a really dumb thing to have said, there's nothing funny about it."

Beat let out a snort of displeasure and shifted a bit on his back. "I could do it."

Gum chuckled and turned her head in the opposite direction, trying to conceal a smile. "You and what rocket ship? You couldn't even tag that water tower over there."

Beat finally sat up on his elbows and turned to glare at Gum, recognizing a challenge when her heard one. "Is that a fact? Well I'm damn certain you couldn't either."

Although she had thought her companion's comment about the moon had been... dare she say... "cute"... Gum reverted to her cynical frame of mind and glared right back at Beat. "Is that so?"

The two rudies continued this staring match for about ten seconds before both were on their feet and skating towards the end of the roof, in the direction of the water tower. They both hit the edge at the same time, but Beat took a long lunging leap onto a balcony railing of the adjacent building. Gum slid her magnetic skates easily onto a wide winding rail that she knew would lead her directly to her destination. She noticed Beat was not following her path and shifted her eyes upward, hearing the sound of his skates grinding on metal, and then the sound was gone. She pushed this curiosity out of her mind and concentrated on her balance as her dismount approached at end of the curving rail. With precise timing, Gum launched herself from the rail and cleared a small gate, landing dexterously on her feet at the base of a rung ladder. She hastily grabbed onto it and started hoisting herself up and quickly as she could. Once she reached the top of the ladder, she grinned to herself triumphantly as the small water tower stood before her. Her gloved hand swiftly moved to her belt and removed a trusty spray paint can which she pointed directly at the surface of the water tower. Her finger was about to depress the nozzle when a large impact about two feet away from her startled the daylights out of her. "Gyaah!"

Beat had landed right next to her from some unknown height, spray can already in hand and grin already plastered on face. "Did I scare you?"

"Argh, you jerk!" was all that Gum could spit out, visibly moved by this sudden interaction. Without hesitation, she lifted the spray can to the surface in question and started tagging, but her cocky companion had the same idea. Gum paused, then shifted her eyes to Beat. "Excuse me. What are you doing?"

"Tagging."

"Yeah, no kidding. Get outta my space, now!"

"Who says it's your space? I got here first."

"No you didn't! I was here first! I won, now I'm leaving my tag. Move it, Beat."

"Nah, I don't think I will."

"Jerk! I'm warning you! Get out of the way! Stop spraying! This is my space! You jerk!"

This childish bickering went on for about fifteen minutes, and by the time were finished fighting it out, Beat and Gum had seemingly created a new tag.

The two, tired out from yelling at and pushing each other, sat down on the edge of the platform the water tower rested on and continued their silent gazing. The dripping work of art that stood behind them read something like, "BeGautm".

Gum found herself smiling again. Even though they would sometimes be at odds with each other, she always enjoyed being with him. Running with Beat gave her almost as much of an adrenaline rush as dodging bullets from Onishima's gun. And also... as she looked over at him... she realized she didn't only enjoy the social aspect of their time together, but also the physical aspect. She was sitting close enough to him that she could faintly feel the waves of heat coming off of his body. Any other girl might be repulsed by this, seeing as it indicated the boy had been sweating profusely from their late night race, but not Gum. She appreciated it and even enjoyed it. She also fancied she could feel the vibrations of his heartbeat.

Suddenly, Beat turned and looked at her, and slowly lifted his hand to his face. Gum watched curiously and intently. "Hey Gum-chan?"

He had caught her off guard by referring to her as this, and it delayed her response time. "Y-yes, Beat-kun?"

"You cold? Maybe we should go home."

Gum kept her eyes on his hand, then shifted her eyes down to her legs which seemed to be shivering. "Oh uh.. no. I.. have some things I still need to do tonight. You go on home without me."

"Things..." Beat repeated. He turned to the side and reached into his jeans pocket, digging profusely. "All right then, here." He pulled out about 500 yen and pointed it in Gum's direction.

Gum blinked a few times at the offering before she looked back up at Beat. "What's this?"

"Just take it. It's just a little money for something to eat.. or something. In case you need it."

"Beat, I can't take your money. I don't need it. Besides, you worked for it..."

Beat suddenly grabbed her hand and pressed the change into Gum's gloved palm. "Take it, all right? Don't be so stubborn."

Gum wasn't sure what to do, so she merely nodded and pocketed the money. When she looked back up she nearly jumped out of her skin. Beat had taken off his goggles and was looking at her with his 'bare eyes'. Gum tried not to gawk like an obsessed fan girl, or anything of the type, but the rare, rare sight of Beat's actual brown eyes seemed to fascinate her. "Ano.. uh... doumo arigatou gozaimasu, Beat-kun..." she stuttered, looking deep into his eyes.

"Dou itashimashite, Gum-chan."

_His eyes seem so innocent_, Gum thought to herself as Beat began to stand up. _How odd for such a big tough-guy gang leader to have such soft, innocent eyes..._

Beat slowly skated his way to the gate and rested one hand on it before looking back at Gum. "Hey, whatever it is you're doing tonight, be careful, huh? This isn't our turf yet."

Gum simply nodded and never broke eye contact. "I know. I will be."

Beat nodded back. "All right. See ya." With that, Beat let out a short grunt and boosted himself over the gate and plummeted down towards the streets of Benten-cho.

Gum turned and looked back up at the moon. She envisioned one of Beat's signature tags plastered across the surface of the glowing heavenly body. She smiled to herself and jingled the change he had given her around in her pocket. Deep inside, she hoped that, either through his ignorance or her will, she would be able to look into those constantly concealed eyes again soon.


	2. Part Two-- Leave Me Alone

"Innocent Eyes"

Part Two ==

by Vilsy

__

Jet Grind Radio and all the related characters, locations, etc. belong to Sega Enterprises. I'm so happy people enjoyed the first too-too short chapter of this fic, and I really appreciate the feedback and thanks to all who read and reviewed. I hope you enjoy this segment as well. There's a little bit of sick humor and I hope it doesn't take away from the story.. x_x; Peace! ^_^ BTW.. doumo arigatou gozaimasu= thank you very much... dou itashimashite= don't mention it. ^.^v

Gum checked her watch as she dashed down the sidewalk of Center Street in downtown Shibuya-cho. It was nearly 1:30 am and she feared that she would be easy prey for any wandering squad car full of donut-chomping police officers at such a late hour. On top of this, she was dead tired. It had been nearly three hours since she and Beat had parted on the rooftops of Benten-cho, and Gum was quite ready for bed. She kept hearing the sound of echoing police sirens in her ear and looked over her shoulder every now and then. She nearly missed her turn from being too distracted, and cut a hard left, letting her feet leave the cement and hit the wall in a smooth grind. When she had regained her focus, she dismounted the wall and landed back on the ground and continued skating down the alley, closing her eyes and sighing. She neared the well-hidden entrance to the GGs' garage and slowed her momentum to a walking speed. Slowly, she turned the knob and pushed against the rusty metal door that made a hideous screeching sound no matter how gently she opened it. She cringed at the ear-splitting noise and squeezed into the garage through the small opening she had made by pushing the door. She sighed and shook her head as the forsaken door made just as much racket as she closed it tight. To her relief, none of the garage's inhabitants seemed to stir. The abnormally bright moon was shining brightly through the small windows that lined the wall way up by the ceiling of the building. Gum looked back and forth, making out the outlines of her fellow GGs laying either sprawled on the floor or semi-comfortably in a few make-shift beds. This was anything but Utopia, but it was all these rudies had. Gum silently glided further into the room, then stopped as she heard the soft grinding sound that her wheels made. Using her excellent balance, Gum reached down and pulled off one skate than the other in order to keep the noise down to a minimum. Now in her socks, her footsteps could go unheard. As she walked toward a small bed in the back corner of the garage, she could her the familiar sound of wood being cut in half by a saw... or was that Beat and Tab? Ah yes, fellow GG Tab lay face down on a cot on the opposite side of the room, snoring heavily into his pillow. Not too far away, Beat was lying on their fold-out couch in the most bizarre position Gum had ever seen. The moonlight on his face revealed that his mouth was becoming more ajar as each deafening snore escaped, a trace of drool streaking towards his chin. Gum blinked a few times, not sure whether this was repulsive or... attractive? No. Definitely repulsive. She kept her eyes on Beat as she continued tiptoeing towards her quaint bed, not realizing the peril that lay before her.

*Crash*

Gum tripped and fell face first onto the floor, losing her grip on her skates and flinging them across the room. They hit the wall hard and caused another loud *crash* to echo throughout the garage. Everyone jumped awake and yelled various things such as, "I'm up, mom!" and "Crap, it's the cops!" Beat nearly choked on his own saliva as he jumped up to a sitting position on the fold-out couch and looked around.

"Wh-what the hell's going on?" he coughed out.

Potts was barking boisterously as he had been awaken-- Gum had tripped right over him. She lay there motionless, not because she was hurt but because she was mortified by her clumsiness. Beat noticed her laying here and managed to put two and two together. He stood up shakily and shook his fist at his beloved pet. "Potts! Quiet boy! Cut it out!"

"Yo, what's wrong with that dog, man?" Garam mumbled from somewhere on the darkened floor.

"There a bust or something? Did they find us? Talk to me, what's going on?" Tab's unsteady voice came from the corner.

"What happened?" a feminine voice squeaked, signaling that Mew had also been awaken by the crash. "Did someone break in?"

"No no, relax guys," Beat quickly replied as he saw the moonlight shine on the surface of Gum's helmet as she turned her head to look at him. "Potts was just startled by a pussy cat or something."

Gum smirked to herself as she realized Beat was knowingly referring to her. She turned red with both frustration and embarrassment and continued to lay on her stomach. She watched as Beat slowly walked towards her kneeled down to pet Potts, quieting the faithful dog.

"Go back to sleep guys, don't be so damn jumpy."

"Jumpy he says... sheesh," Tab mumbled, dropping his face back into the pillow.

The others who were awoken gave the same annoyed grumbles before they all easily drifted back to sleep. Being a rudie was not a relaxing occupation. Beat grinned to himself as he scratched Potts affectionately behind the ears and looked over at Gum who had not moved an inch. "Atta boy, lay on down and go to sleep. Good dog." Potts panted and slobbered all over his master's hand in a display of his undying fondness before he turned a few times and lay back down. Beat sweatdropped and wiped his hand on his shirt in an attempt to get the dog spit off. He then crawled over to Gum who was watching him intently with an exhausted look on her face. "Hi there," Beat said softly.

"Why hello," Gum replied in an equally casual tone.

"Are you all right, or are you just gonna sleep there tonight?"

"I am quite fine, thank you."

Beat chuckled to himself. "Heh, I suppose you're going to tell me you meant to do that."

"And what if I do?"

"I'll try not to laugh at you too hard."

Gum heaved an exasperated sigh. "You can be such a jerk..."

"Myeah, I know. Here." Beat offered his hand to his friend who hesitantly accepted it. He slowly got to his feet and pulled her up gently, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "There. Are you sure you're ok? No injuries?"

Gum could barely see his face since he was facing opposite the windows, but she nodded anyway. She was curious as to whether or not he sported his eyewear even when he slept. "I've had worse falls, Beat. You know that."

".... This is true." Beat continued gazing at her until he noticed she had looked over to one of his hands. He sheepishly let go of her and let out a fake cough. "Where were you all night? It's late as hell."

"I was just out. Nothing special."

Beat glared at her hard, not fully buying her story. "No really, you couldn't have been doing 'nothing special' for four hours."

"Three hours, thank you very much," Gum snapped, voice slightly elevated.

"Shh! What are ya, psycho? People are trying to sleep," Beat shushed in a playful yet scathing tone.

Gum lowered her voice and clenched her fists. "Argh.. y-you're incorrigible!"

Beat blinked a few times, not remembering that word from past vocabulary lessons. "Incor-wha?"

"Oh never mind. I'm going to bed."

"Yeah ok, but, don't stay out so late, a'ight?" Beat cautiously placed one hand back onto Gum's shoulder.

Gum sharply wrenched her shoulder out from under his hand and sneered at him. "You're a lot of things, Beat, but you're definitely not my father."

Beat did not seem to realize that Gum was a trifle cross with him and he laughed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I sure as hell should think not!"

"Then stop acting like it!" Gum yelled suddenly, soliciting more annoyed groans and moans from the other GGs.

Beat jumped a bit at the tone and volume of her voice and looked at her incredulously. Before he could respond, Gum wished him a good night and stormed off to her bed. He watched her and wondered what exactly he did to make her so angry. He concluded that this was yet more evidence that he would never understand those of the female persuasion. With this revelation, he turned and walked back to his couch and flopped down on it, scratching his chest a few times before drifting back to sleep.

Gum stood by her bed and looked around the pitch-black room, then to the one spot of moonlit-space where Tab and Beat were sleeping. She decided that everyone had their eyes closed, if they were not already asleep. She slowly removed her helmet and hung it on the bedpost, running her fingers gently through her blond hair. With another soft sigh, she slid out of her dress and striped turtleneck, then reached under her pillow and pulled out a white undershirt which she pulled on snugly. Privacy was hard to come by in this setting, but Gum had become an expert of finding the right moment to do "girl things" without drawing a bit of attention to herself. She was still in the process of teaching Mew-chan the same tact. Gum was, however, quite grateful that her 'gang mates', though indeed brazen, upheld a decent level of respect for each other. No matter how difficult her lifestyle seemed, she always reminded herself that she could have joined a gang in which she would have to be gang-raped for initiation or merely treated as some sort of sexual object among the male members.. or even the more.. masculine female members. The GGs were nothing like this, and Gum enjoyed this aspect. It made life much simpler, although she did remember one time she backhanded Tab across the face for accidentally "grabbing her" after he took a inept spill towards her. Inept spill... As she lay down on her bed and pulled the blanket over her she replayed the clumsy fall she just had in her mind. She couldn't help but laugh at herself. So much for her excellent balance.

"Aw gross man! Beat! Dammit man, wake up!" Garam shouted, shaking the leader by the shoulders until he woke up.

"H-huh? What is it?" he groaned.

"Your damn dog just pissed on the floor again! Why don't you ever walk the friggin' flea bag?" the black-clad rudie inquired, letting go of Beat's black undershirt.

Beat sat up and rubbed his eyes, not answering Garam's inquiry. He reached for his goggles and put them on, and before he could get a chance to form an argument, a disturbingly cheery voice echoed throughout the garage.

"Rise and shine, GG's! Time for Mew-chan's homemade egg roll ramen soufflé!!" Mew giggled as she burst into the garage and skid to a stop in front the two bewildered rudies holding a tray full of... something.

Garam's face (if one could actually see it) lit up with joy. "All right! Food! Damn I'm hungry!"

Beat sweatdropped and located his orange t-shirt and pulled it on with haste. He knew better than to stick around for the strange dishes Mew prepared on the less-than-functional old electric stove they had found in the Kogane-cho junk yard. He grabbed his blades and pulled them on as well, then stood up. "Thanks but no thanks, Mew. I'm gonna uh... take Potts for a walk." He looked at Garam and Mew who gave him the most disturbed looks imaginable. No one ever took Potts for a walk.

"I'll go with you," a voice came from behind them. Beat turned to see Gum standing there purposefully, already dressed.

"Erm... all right," he replied, not wanting to start another conflict.

The two... rather... the three of them skated slowly through one of the commercial districts of Shibuya-cho. Beat kept a slow enough momentum that he could keep his hands in his pockets without disturbing the dynamics of his movement. Gum traveled slightly behind him, swaying her hips and swinging her arms in rhythm despite their slow velocity. Potts was in a state of euphoria as he trotted behind them, sniffing several sign posts and doing his business on every other mailbox they encountered. It was apparent that the poor dog did not get out enough since he became a little too 'friendly' with a certain fire hydrant. Gum stood on the corner, still swaying her body from side to side as Beat flailed his arms wildly and shouted at the dog to quit making a girlfriend out of city-owned property. The blond rudie looked down at her skates, inspecting them cautiously.

"What's wrong?"

Gum looked back up and noticed that Beat had skated up beside her and was looking down at her skates as well. "I think my wheels are a little on the wobbly side."

Beat nodded. "Yeah, my nuts are pretty loose." Gum glared at him. "I can't get a confident grip on them lately." Gum continued glaring, her heartbeat increasing in speed a bit and her cheeks turning slightly red. Beat noticed this change in physical stature. "What?" He examined Gum's look of disbelief which trailed down from his face towards his legs. Beat coughed and followed her eyes with his. "You know... the nuts... that fasten the screws... come loose easily... I can't get my wheels to grip the pavement as well... traction... you know..."

Gum quickly whipped her eyes back up to his face and turned even redder. "Oh... oh yes."

"What did you think I meant?" Beat quickly asked.

"Nothing." Gum hastily turned away from him as she continued to blush, and bit her lip in embarrassment. "My wheels are wearing out. I think I need to replace them," she muttered.

Beat rubbed his chest with one hand and stuck his other hand in his pocket and looked the other way as well. "Well you know, a good underground wheel job can get costly, if you get it done by a professional."

"It's just a wheel replacement..."

"I know, but still... it may cost your whole allowance." Beat chuckled a bit and began rooting around in his pocket.

"Honestly Beat... you... you..." Gum bit her lip harder, still thinking about the dirt that had just run through her mind a few minutes earlier. "Argh..." she sighed in exasperation. She jumped when she suddenly felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Here."

Gum turned her head and looked at the contents of his outstretched hand. "What's this?"

"Just a little allowance..."

"No, you baka! I am not taking anymore of your money!" Gum yelled, turning around and pushing his hand away. "It's yours, not mine."

"Who cares? I'm giving it to you. I want you to have it."

"Why? Why do you insist on being my father? I don't need an allowance! Stop treating me like a little girl!" Gum cried out louder, causing passersby to gawk at the two rudies.

Beat made a face of genuine confusion. "What's your problem? Why are you so stubborn? It's just money. If you need to get your blades tuned up then why don't you just take it?"

Gum skated backwards a bit, closer to the curb. "Keep your money! I have my own! Just leave me alone and stop trying to be my dad!"

"I'm not trying to be your goddamn dad!" Beat yelled, clenching his fists and causing Potts to unleash a barrage of irritating barks. Beat blinked, realizing he had just shouted at Gum and caused her to jump into the street and skate away swiftly. He watched as she jumped onto a rail and grinded downhill, turning onto a side street at the end of the slope. "Wow..." he muttered to himself as the bystanders moved on, realizing the domestic disputes were over. "Not the right approach, Beat..." He re-pocketed the money and looked down at Potts who had stopped barking and was simply sitting there with a dumb happy dog expression. "Don't ever let me catch you bringing home a girlfriend, Potts," Beat smirked. Potts just closed his eyes and panted happily. Beat was glad that fire hydrants were neither mobile nor capable of speaking.

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Gyah... kind of a weird chapter... I'm sorry there wasn't much action. I think I'm exploring Gum and Beat's relationship a little too much and haven't started the plot stated in the summary yet. x__x; Gomen nasai! The next chapter will start to live up to the summary. BTW, I feel weird cuz I'm basically fudging the chars' personalities. I hope I'm not making them too unbelievable. Anyway, please r&r @ your leisure. Peace! ^-^


	3. Part Three--Oh the Irony!

"Innocent Eyes"

Part Three (Oh the Irony) ==

by Vilsy

__

Jet Grind Radio and all the related characters, locations, etc. belong to Sega Enterprises... and perhaps Eric Haze? x__x; Hmm.. well this short chapter involves Beat... gets a tad violent but nothing you can't see on TV. Read and review at your leisure. ^_^v

Having delivered Potts back to the garage, Beat informed Garam and Tab that he was going to do some surveillance at the Shibuya-cho bus depot. The sun was shining brightly as it usually did in this pleasant district and Beat decided to take the high road, grinding on drain pipes and skating over rooftops. He finally approached the relatively empty bus depot and skid to a stop on the roof of a major chain convenience store. "Hmm, seems quiet enough," he said softly to himself. Of course, Beat was on no surveillance mission as he had conveyed to his friends. He had other plans. He hopped off the roof to the outcropping below which housed several ad billboards. Beat stood there and observed his surroundings, weighing his options. He then spotted the giant digital display screen which flashed various advertisements, music videos, and local news. "Perfect," he said with a grin and skated towards it. This was going to be a masterpiece by any measure. Beat had not been able to get Gum off of his mind for the past few hours. He felt terrible about yelling at her the way he did, and he thought of the perfect way to make it up to her. He had it planned out in his head and he smiled to himself as he pulled two spray paint cans out from his belt. He began spraying the background of his masterpiece-- a huge "ai"character in Japanese. (Ai means love ^.~ ) It took him only a few minutes to compose this, then he discarded the empty can and began spraying the foreground. Beat grinned to himself as he scrawled the letters "G" and "U" across the swirling lines of the "ai" character. If he could not tag the moon, this LCD screen was the next best thing. _Everyone_ in the bus terminal would see it. That is.. if he ever had the chance to finish it.

Before Beat could even start spraying the "M", an ear-shattering noise rang out across the terminal. Beat stumbled backwards in shock as parts of the screen not two feet away from him shattered in a small explosion. He dropped the spray paint can and glared at the smoke that rose from a bullet hole in the surface of the screen which had gone black. He had just been shot at.

Hastily, Beat did an about-face and peered down at the sidewalk. None else but Captain Onishima himself stood on the sidewalk below, gun poised with barrel still smoking. "Damn!" he swore, as always.

Beat was a bit taken aback by this encounter. Lucky for him Onishima was a horrible shot, or else he would have been breathing through his neck. The rudie pulled himself together and brushed his orange shirt off to feign composure. "What's this, Onishima? Not using rubber bullets anymore?"

"You're damn right, you filthy punk! Now surrender and turn yourself in or next time I won't miss!" the trench coat-clad cop growled, cocking his pistol towards Beat again.

Beat was about to respond when he heard the familiar sound of about twenty pairs of boots marching in his direction. Beyond Onishima, about a dozen SWAT team officers hidden behind large plastic shields stomped towards their commanding officer. "Wonderful..." Beat grumbled, shifting his eyes around to find an appropriate escape route.

Onishima looked behind him also and motioned to his small army. "I found 'em, boys! Don't let this punk get away!"

"YES SIR!" came his mechanical and monotone reply, and the group of SWAT officers charged towards the building Beat was standing on and started hurling tear gas grenades.

Beat sweatdropped and hastily dashed off of the platform he was standing on before it became shrouded in that nerve-shattering tear gas. He took several easy jumps from one outcropping platform to the next as the SWAT team pursued from below, waving nightsticks and throwing more tear gas skyward. Onishima followed, cursing and shaking his fist. The rudie-boy reached the last platform, admired one of his 'Beat This' logos that he had plastered over a "Wild Heaven Blend" billboard, then took a leap of faith towards the tan and white staircases.

"Gas him you morons!" Onishima's voice bellowed as each cop's head turned to follow Beat's smooth arching jump onto the left handrail of the staircase.

Effortless, Beat did an Acid Soul grind up the railing then jumped off onto the first tin overhang his capable feet could reach. Dodging another precisely thrown grenade, his movement flowed into a wall grind against another billboard and he landed on the green railed fence that kept sidewalk pedestrians safe from the dangers of the street.

"I said don't let that punk ass kid escape! After him!" Onishima yelled at the top of his lungs as he and the SWAT team shifted direction, now pursuing Beat in the opposite direction.

"Idiots," Beat grinned to himself as he grinding along the green rail, sliding off onto the pavement easily at the end of the line. He then began skating casually towards the red staircase in the alley that lead down to the Shibuya sewers.

"Oh no you don't!"

*BANG!*

Beat felt his heart jump into his throat as a bullet ricocheted off the street and into a window only feet away from him. Onishima was certainly not screwing around. The not-so-confident rudie skated a little faster towards the alley, knowing that once he hit the cement pipe he could lose the cops easily through the sewer system and get back to the garage in the center part of town. It was only a few yards away, that handrail that he would grind down and make his smooth escape. Yep, he could finish his graffiti gift to Gum some other time. Just a few more feet away... those pigs were so slow... why did they even bother? Just a few more inches and...

Beat jumped onto the right-hand rail and did a Farside Acid Soul grind down... but he only made it half way to freedom. As irony would have it, his "nuts" came loose, and the screw holding his rear left wheel to its bearing came unfastened, and his wheel fell off completely mid-grind. Seeing as his back left wheel was one of the only wheel that made contact with the rail during this particular type of grind, it is needless to say that Beat lost his balance and 'bit it' so to speak. He tripped and fell onto the hard metal steps to the left of the rail and tumbled the rest of the way down, gravity refusing to release its grip on the rudie. By the time Beat landed at the foot of the staircase, his arms and face were covered with bruises and scrapes. This had been quite a plummet, but he was still conscious. With a deep labored moan, Beat managed to open his eyes and try to push himself up with his blood-covered arms. He had almost gotten to his knees when the SWAT team reached the 'summit' of the staircase.

"There he is!" Onishima's voice echoed down into the drainage duct. "Fire at will!"

These were the last words Beat heard before he was engulfed in a cloud of tear gas at ground zero. As the smoke cleared, several SWAT officers marched down the stairs, sporting gas masks for just such an occasion. Although Beat was long gone in terms of consciousness, the baneful cops whipped out their nightsticks and gave the rudie a decent beating to tie up loose ends. Above the sound of plastic on flesh echoed the ominous and psychotic laughter of Captain Onishima.

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Poor Beat-kun! *cries and kicks herself for messing him up* Oh well, how ironic, eh? Beat gets beat. x__x; I hope this was a decent chapter. Thanks again for all of your kind reviews, I appreciate it. Until next chapter, peace. ^_^v


	4. Part Four--The Necessity of Being 'Clean...

"Innocent Eyes"

Part Four (The Necessity of Being 'Clean') ==

by Vilsy

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Jet Grind Radio and all the related characters, locations, etc. belong to Sega Enterprises... etc. There's some foul language/violence used in this chapter. All that good stuff... x__x;; Enjoy

"Honestly, Gum-chan!" Mew was giggling, nearly falling off the row of washing machines she was sitting on. "Don't those chafe you?"

Gum smirked as she separated her undergarments from that of her fellow GGs. Mew was mocking her for her _only _pair of thong panties that she owned. "Mind your own business," she mumbled, pulling more of the warm, dry laundry out of the dryer they had been using at the local Laundromat. The GGs may have been runaways, but they needed clean clothes like everyone else.

Mew just snickered and banged the back of her skates against the metal surfaces of the washing machines as she swung her legs, creating an obnoxious *clang clang clang* sound. "They make you 'feel like a woman'?" she pried, obviously intrigued by the whole subject or else she would have dropped it by now.

Gum slammed both hands on top of the dryers, leaning forward in a pose that denoted extreme annoyance. Mew waited for a response, keeping her feet still. Gum replied by grabbing a random pair of boxer shorts, turning and hurling them at her companion. Mew sweatdropped as she got fwapped in the face with a warm pair of men's underwear. Gum grinned and walked over to the wash machine Mew was sitting on, and jabbed her forefinger into the poor girl's forehead, which was concealed behind boxers. Mew lost her balance and teetered over backwards, legs flying up in a terribly awkward position. "Pardon me." Gum reached down and opened up the washing machine and pulled out their second load of soaking wet laundry.

When Gum had moved out of the way, Mew flung herself back up to a sitting position and ripped the boxer shorts off of her face. "What'd you do that for?" she cried, shaking the drawers in her fist.

Gum was facing away from her now, slowly feeding each wet shirt and pair of jeans into the dryer. "I wonder whose those are."

Mew blinked a few times. "Eh?" She then looked at the item she had clenched in her hand and sweatdropped again. She blushed bright red and tossed the boxers back into the pile of clean, dry clothes beside Gum. "Ew..." she managed to squeak out, rather embarrassed. She sat a bit more peacefully as she watched Gum drop a few coins into the slot, fiddle with the controls on the dryer's panel, then step back. "Why are we always stuck doin' laundry anyway?"

Gum turned around and lifted her wrist, pulling her sleeve up slightly. "I don't mind it so much. I'd rather spend an afternoon in here than an eternity smelling dirty boys." Mew lifted her eyebrows and nodded, seeing Gum's point. "Besides, I don't think any of the others know how to do laundry." With that comment, she clicked on the tiny radio she had on her wristwatch. Ah, technology. Naturally, it was permanently tuned to Jet Set Radio. Gum's eyes lit up as the signal cleared up, revealing that Professor K was playing "Magical Girl". "Nice, I love this song," Gum smiled as she closed her eyes and lowered her wrist.

"It's ok," Mew remarked, watching as Gum began swaying her hips smoothly from side to side. "The lyrics are kind of... lacking."

Gum chuckled and shook her head. "Sometimes there's more to a track than just the lyrics. If the words aren't so hot, you have to listen for other things."

"Yeah, like what?"

"Like this rhythm, and the bass line. Can't you feel it in your soul? It makes you move. It feels really nice."

Mew sweatdropped. Gum was getting rather "deep". Nevertheless, Mew watched Gum dance with a certain element of fascination. The blond rudie's movements were so fluid and errorless, almost like the music was flowing right through her and she was a product of the sound waves. Mew always had admired Gum's dancing abilities. They were so natural, so elegant and graceful... so.. well.. sexy. Not that Mew was looking at Gum in 'that way', but she envied her companion's 'bust-a-groove-abilities'. She too closed her eyes, thinking about what Gum had said about feeling the music. Slowly she began to move along with the tunes emanating from Gum's radio.

Gum was still smiling as she 'shook it' so to speak. Music really raised her spirits. When she opened her eyes, a large sweatdrop formed on her temple. She watched as Mew pulled off her regular, frantic and random dance style, flailing her arms and legs and looking a bit of a mess. "Mew, you all right?"

Mew blinked then stopped moving. "Well yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"What are you swatting flies or something?"

"... That's not funny!"

Gum laughed and put her hands on her hips. "I'm sorry, it's just that you're all over the place, you don't even have the beat."

Mew grimaced and looked down, quite crushed by this remark.

Gum's expression dropped and she pondered for a moment. "Don't worry, Mew. I'll show you a few moves. Come on."

Mew looked back up and smiled hopefully, then slid off of the top of the washing machine and onto her skates. "All right."

Gum smiled again and rocked her hips from side to side. "Do what I do. Just sway your ass from side to side like this, and swing your arms gently, just like you were skating slowly but not moving your feet too much." Mew watched intently as Gum performed what she had just explained. She then mimicked Gum as best she could, but was still a bit awkward. "That's a good start," Gum encouraged.

Mew sighed and shook her head, but managed to crack a smile as Gum smiled at her positively. _If only I could move like her, and Piranha-chan... and Cube-chan... then all the guys would look at me differently. I'd be sexy too..._ Mew's thoughts were cut short by the sound of the dryer cycle's conclusion. Gum stopped dancing and turned around, leaning down and opening the dryer door. As she unloaded the laundry and tucked it into the duffel bag they brought, she looked back at Mew and tilted her head. "Come on, let's get home. I'll give you lesson two there." Mew nodded and giggled as the two friends skated towards the exit.

As they skated leisurely back towards the garage, Gum's thoughts wandered to Beat whom she had abandoned earlier that morning. She sighed, knowing she had been.. to put it bluntly.. a bitch. She was determined to swallow her pride and apologize to him as soon as she saw him back 'home'.

This same sunlight Gum and Mew were enjoying struggled to squeeze through the barred window in a certain cell in a certain downtown police station. Beat's eyes fluttered open slowly as the late-afternoon sun spilled across his pale face. His vision slowly focused and he let out an agonized moan. Everything ached from head to toe, especially when he attempted to sit up. Holding his forehead in his hand, he looked from side to side, trying to figure out where he was.

"So you're awake," a voice called from a few yards away. The sound of fabric rubbing together and then footsteps drew closer to Beat's current position.

The bruised and battered rudie sat up on the uncomfortable bed he was on and looked ahead of him towards the source of the voice. "Holy shit..." he murmured to himself when he realized he was in a jail cell. "Wh-what happened? Where am I?"

"Tokyo-to Police Headquarters, genius," the dime-a-dozen guard replied, tapping the bars of the tiny cell with his nightstick. "Don't get too comfy now, you're wanted by the captain. Get up."

Beat sneered as he glared at the officer and reluctantly got to his feet.

"Now come over here. Come on, don't drag your feet, punk."

Beat turned red with frustration, despising the feeling of helplessness and being forced to obey anything a cop said. Nevertheless, he was not stupid. He slowly walked over to the cell door and stared ominously at the guard.

"Put both hands through here," the guard instructed, pointing to a small rectangular opening in the middle of the barred door. "Come on, put them through."

Beat clenched his teeth, knowing what was to come next. He hesitantly slid his hands through the opening and watched with dread as the guard pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and slapped them on to the rudie-boy's trembling wrists. _Great... just great, _Beat thought to himself. _I never thought I'd live to see the day..._ He considered grabbing the guard by the collar and slamming his head into the hard iron bars, stealing his key ring, unlocking the door, then running. This seemed to be a good, typical action movie type plan, but Beat realized that he wouldn't be able to run very far with his hands bound together... or without his skates for that matter. Then it hit him. He was standing there in his socks. "Where are my blades?"

The guard looked at him curiously. "Any weapons found on you would have been removed at the time of your arrest."

"No damnit, I mean my skates!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Bullshit! I want my skates! Where are they?" Beat demanded, clenching his fists and panicking as if they had abducted a beloved family member.

With that, the guard pulled out his nightstick and whacked Beat squarely across the knuckles. The rudie cried out in pain and quickly withdrew his bound hands into the cell and backed up several feet, rubbing his throbbing knuckles.

"Watch your language." The guard sheathed his nightstick and pulled the ring of keys off of his belt and shuffled through them. Beat watched intently with a great look of contempt on his face, still caressing his sore knuckles with his fingers. When the guard found the correct key, he pushed it into the keyhole and unlocked the cell door. "Step out."

Beat knew he was out of his element. He couldn't sweet talk his way out of this one, or fight or flee. They had all the weapons in their corner and he was down for the count. He had no choice but to comply or suffer another beating. The keisatsu were ruthless and inhumane in Tokyo-to.. because Onishima allowed them to be. He walked out of the cell and was abruptly shoved into the next room by the guard.

The next place Beat found himself was sitting on a chair behind a desk in a dark room, lined with blind-covered windows. This was too much like the movies for his taste. In all his life, or at least his 'career' as a rudie, Beat never imagined that he'd be sitting in a place like this, or that the slowpoke keisatsu could ever touch him. The mere thought of it made him incredibly angry. On top of being caught by the pigs, they had confiscated his goggles, his headphones, and worst of all his skates. He bit his lip as he stared down at his socks, then abruptly slammed both fists down onto the table in aggravation. To make matters _even _worse, Beat felt betrayed. If it hadn't been for the poor condition of his skates, he would not be in this situation. Then again, as he later considered, it was his fault for not getting them tuned up sooner. His neglect made him even more enraged at himself, the cops, and the world. Usually calm and composed, Beat was ready to pick up a chair and hurl it through the window. If the windows weren't barred that is...

Before he could do anything rash, the door slowly creaked open, and in walked that grinning devil himself... Captain Onishima.

Beat's eyes narrowed as he gazed upon the baneful and... diminutive man, his heart filling with more fury. Onishima just kept on grinning from ear to ear, thrilled that he had finally apprehended one of the more notorious troublemakers in the world of vandalism. "Well, well, what have we here?" his scratchy voice chuckled in sheer, maniacal rapture. "A little street vandal without his widdle roller skates." Beat rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking down at his cuffed wrists then back up at Onishima. "One more punk kid off the street."

"Please," Beat hissed through his teeth. "What the hell are you gonna do? Slap me with a $200 fine and make me spit polish the bus station?"

Onishima suddenly slammed his hand down on the table right by Beat's clenched fists. "Wrong!" Beat sweatdropped. "It's a $500 fine for vandalism."

"Expression."

"Whatever." Beat was about to respond to this mockery and waste of time when the captain lifted his hand from the table and began pacing slowly. "However... there's a more important matter I need to address."

Beat lifted an eyebrow. "And that is?"

Onishima abruptly whirled around and stared Beat dead in the face. "Narcotics."

Beat blinked. "Eh.. come again?"

"Drugs you idiot!"

"I know what narcs are!" Beat retorted, losing his cool again. "What the hell do they have to do with me?"

Onishima just grinned and returned to pacing. "A few days ago we had an.. informant come to the station with the report of witnessing some roller skate-wearing punk executing a drug transaction in Shibuya-cho. Seeing as your little tribe of troublemakers are the only ones in Shibuya that wear those confounded--"

"We're the only ones who use those 'roller skates' as you call them because everyone else is scared to, since meat-heads like you automatically assume they're criminals!" Beat sneered, sitting on the edge of his chair as if his better judgment were the only thing holding him back.

Onishima obviously was ignoring Beat's argument as he turned back towards the rudie. "As _common sense _would dictate... you must have something to do with this. Now talk."

"I don't know anything about it. You're probably just making it up," Beat replied calmly.

"That's a lie! I said talk, you filthy punk!"

"Fuck you!"

Fatal mistake number one. Instantly, Onishima drew his gun from his belt and pistol whipped Beat across the face. Although one could hear the sound of metal against flesh from clear across the hall, Beat did not emit the faintest whimper of pain. Instead, his face having been jerked to the side from the impact, he shifted his eyes back up to Onishima and glared at him icily

"That'll teach you to watch that dirty mouth of yours." Onishima re-holstered his weapon and watched as a small drop of blood squeezed its way out of a cut across Beat's left cheek.

"We... don't mess.. with that stuff..." Beat mumbled, finally feeling the pain start to sting through his face. Onishima cocked an eyebrow at him. "We don't... mess with drugs... If expressing ourselves is a crime... it's the only crime we commit..."

Onishima chuckled to himself. "Self-expression is not a crime. Vandalism, however, is."

"You don't have anything about this drug bullshit on me. You can't charge me for something I didn't do. I'm not stupid."

"Be that as it may, we'll find out which one of your punk friends is the perpetrator, with or without your cooperation. Dealing is a serious offense."

"Fine, whatever," Beat mumbled, starting to feel very weak and jaded from all previous beatings. "You're barking up the wrong tree. None of my friends or I would ever screw around with narcs."

"We'll see about that, punk."

"Now let me out of here. Send me an envelope and I'll pay your petty little fine. This is a waste of time," Beat smirked, pulling his wrists apart until it hurt.

"Not so fast. Not only is a fine involved, but you're up for jail time too, kid."

"What!? For painting some lines? That's ridiculous!"

"That's the law. The judge will see to it your punk ass is put behind bars," Onishima grinned.

Beat blinked a few times, then leaned back in the chair and sighed hopelessly. He knew that he wouldn't be put in the penitentiary like Onishima made it sound like. He had not yet reached his eighteenth birthday, so he would merely be shipped off to juvenile hall for a while like all the other unfortunate rudies. Nonetheless, this gave him very little comfort. His spirits were slowly being crushed into nothingness. He would have to stand trial, more than likely be convicted, then spend who knows how long holed up in juvie hall. Away from the sunlight, away from Jet Set Radio, away from the wind in his hair as he grinded down a guardrail on a nice steep hill... away from the thrill of the chase... away from his fellow GG friends... away from Gum...

Beat's mind froze on Gum, and the possibility that he might not get to see her for a while given the situation he got himself into. He sat up straight and glared Onishima directly in the eye. "I want my one phone call now."

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Meh... I don't really like this chapter because it dragged, but I didn't know how else to write it. x__x Please r&r at your leisure. And no worries, Beat won't get beat for another while now. *dodges bricks thrown at her* ^_^;;


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